A Kiss in the Morning

On Sam's sixteenth birthday Gabriel gave him a key.  He also gave him a beautiful leather bound copy of the Complete Works of William Shakespeare and a giant bag of sour gummy worms, but it's the key that Sam can't stop thinking about, can't stop slipping his fingers into his pocket to touch, can't wait to use for the first time.

It's the spare key to Gabriel's apartment.  He's lived there for two months, and he wanted Sam to have a key sooner, but he decided giving it to him for his birthday would be more special.

It's Sam's favorite present by far.  He got some great stuff too, the Shakespeare book from Gabriel, a Barnes & Noble gift card from Dean, some CDs from his parents and Cas, and a whole slew of other things from some of his other friends.  But the key, despite how small and inconsequential it may seem, was the most meaningful.  It was an assurance from Gabriel that they were growing up but not growing apart.

This was an assurance that Sam desperately needed from his twenty-year old best friend.  He'd worried when Gabriel told him he was moving out of his dad's house that he'd go somewhere far away, that it would mean they'd see each other less and less until they were just people that used to be friends.

But it hadn't.  Gabriel moved to a nice enough apartment building just a few blocks away from the Winchester and Collins homes, a distance Sam could easily walk, and it wasn't far for Gabriel to drive him back and forth if it rained.  And now he had a key.  Sam didn't even think Cas had a key, just Gabe, and now him.  A key said all that Sam wanted to hear, it's basically your place too, you're welcome whenever you want, you matter to me.

He's not so naïve that he thinks it means anything romantic.  He's the one with the stupid lovesick puppy disease, not Gabriel, so he doesn't bother to think this could be something it's not.  But he does let himself wish that it was.

"Hey kiddo, cake's ready," Gabriel said, leaning around the dining room doorway and jerking him from his thoughts.  He snatched his hand out of his pocket and away from the key with a guilty little half smile.  He looked up at Gabriel from his position on the couch and couldn't help the little grin that always appeared when he saw his friend.

"Awesome," he said, jumping up and following Gabriel into the dining room.  There, gathered around the table were his parents, Dean and Cas, with Dean's arm thrown possessively around Castiel's waist, Bobby, Ellen, Jo, Andy and Ava.  The room was crowded, but these were all Sam's closest friends and family.  On the table sat a large, homemade cake with the words 'Happy Birthday Sam!' written neatly in red icing, two candles burning above the words, in the shape of a one and a six.

Sam mock groaned when the group launched into the happy birthday song, most of them terribly off key, but the house could've burned to the ground right then and the weight of Gabriel's key in his pocket would've kept the smile on his face.

XXX

He gets to use the key for the first time later that night.  Gabriel's off picking up pizza and booze with a fake ID so Sam lets himself, Dean and Cas into the apartment.  He'd been right, not even Cas had a key.  The apartment was pretty small, an open floor plan living room and kitchen, a single bedroom and bathroom.  The bedroom was a nice size though, plenty of room for a queen sized bed with enough floor space left for a dresser.  His living room held a couch too large for the space but was too comfortable to get rid of, a bookshelf overflowing with books, comics, and DVDs, a coffee table that was two cement blocks and a piece of plywood, and a tv stand with the only non-used thing in the living room, a large plasma tv..

Sam felt a thrill go up his spine as he let them in, instantly taking up residence in his favorite corner of the couch.  It was secondhand, and had probably had unspeakable things done on it, but it was so comfortable that the moment you sat down you melted into the cushions and didn't ever want to get back up.  And it was large enough that it fit four people just comfortably enough that it wasn't awkward, but just tight enough that you were pressed up against the person next to you.

Sam stretched out in his corner as Dean and Cas came in behind them, talking about something, he hadn't been paying attention, his mind too preoccupied by tonight to listen in.  Tonight, they were getting drunk in honor of Sam's birthday.  Dean had declared earlier that week that sixteen was old enough to get trashed under brotherly supervision.  Gabriel had agreed and the two had instantly begun planning Sam's after party.  Their parents all thought that the three of them were staying at Gabriel's for an all night horror movie marathon, which was partially true, they were going to be watching horror movies, at least until they were all too drunk to change the DVD.  But that's not why Sam was excited, he was excited because he and Gabriel would be sharing a bed.  Something they'd done a million times, but never when they were drunk, when they'd both be feeling uninhibited, more willing to take risks.

"Maybe Sam'll finally get laid tonight," Dean laughed and holy shit when had his brother become a mind reader?

"What?" he spluttered, his eyes as wide as saucers.

Dean laughed again and Cas gave him a kind smile.  "You, Gabriel, alcohol, sharing a bed?  Maybe one of you will man up and put the moves on the other."

Sam's eyes practically bugged out of his head.  "I don't know what you're talking about!" he said, his words coming out rushed, his voice high and squeaky.

"Oh Sam, you poor naïve kid.  You've been in love with him since you were like five.  And you couldn't be more obvious," Dean explained patiently.

Sam swallowed convulsively, worrying his bottom lips between his teeth.  "Do you think he knows?" he finally asked.

Cas smiled gently at him, sitting in the middle of the couch.  "He wouldn't know if you bashed his brains in with a brick that had the words 'I like you' painted in neon pink on the side."

Dean gave him a sideways look, settling between Cas and the other end of the couch, his arm automatically looping around his waist.  "Weirdly specific and violent babe, maybe we should cut back on your horror movie intake."

"Never.  Besides we still haven't finished the Scream franchise and I must know if Ghosthead goes after Sidney again," Cas argued.

"Ghostface.  Not Ghosthead," Dean corrected gently.

Cas shrugged, settling into Dean's side.  Sam was unbelievably jealous of the two of them, eighteen years old and they were practically married.  They'd been dating since, like, preschool or something and they were way happier and far more in love than Sam thought any couple should have a right to be.  Dean had never even needed to come out as, well, Sam wasn't really sure if he was gay or bisexual because for Dean it had always been Cas, Cas, Cas.  Sam vaguely remembered attending a play wedding for the two when he was six, he'd been the flower boy because there had been no rings, and Gabriel had reluctantly been the justice of the peace that married the two of them.

He opened his mouth to ask if they were sure that Gabriel didn't know but then the apartment door swung open and he was home, laden with pizza boxes and two large brown paper bags.  Dean and Sam both jumped up, each grabbing a bag and carrying it over to the long counter that served to separate the kitchen and living room.  Cas followed, digging into the top box and extracting a piece of cheese pizza, the cheese hanging off it in strings as he brought it to his mouth.  He took a bite, one of the cheese strings hanging comically out of his mouth and off his chin.  Dean leaned over caught the string between his teeth, biting it off just at Cas's lips.

Gabriel made fake vomiting sounds.  "Ok, seriously, rule number one of hanging out in my apartment, no being disgusting until I've gone to bed and can no longer see you.  I'd say no fooling around on my couch, but odds are people I don't even know have fucked on it, so have fun, use a condom, all that."

"What kind of booze did you get?" Sam asked quickly, changing the subject to something less gross than his brother's sex life.  He grabbed his own piece of pizza as Gabriel began pulling six packs out of the bag.

"Four six packs of beer.  Got 'em from the cooler at the liquor store, so they're all nice and cold already."

Sam grabbed a beer, popping it open on the edge of the counter.  He hadn't actually expected that to work and he felt kind of badass when it did.  He took a long pull from the bottle, relishing the cold slide of it down his throat.

Gabriel grinned at him, grabbing a six pack and a pizza and nodding towards the couch.  "Let's get this birthday bash started."

XXX

It takes Sam an embarrassingly small amount of beers to get drunk.  Well, he's not so much drunk as just extremely tipsy.  Ok, he's drunk.

They're almost finished with the third movie, not that anyone's really been watching it, besides it's just some crappy remake starring the best of the CW.  The pizzas had been devoured hours ago, the appetites of three teenagers and Gabriel had absolutely destroyed them.  Gabriel, despite his small size, ate as much or possibly more than Sam.

"You think he'll puke?" Sam heard Gabriel ask Dean.  None of them were drunk, except maybe Cas, but drunk Cas wasn't much different than sober Cas, maybe just more touchy.  Sam glanced over.  Yup, Cas's hand was in an unfortunate place for Sam to see.

"'M not gonna puke," he protested, trying to give Gabriel a mean look, but instead staring at him like infatuated puppy.

Gabriel studied him for a moment, as if searching for the truth in Sam's statement.  "Nah, you're not.  You're not completely trashed.  You should probably lay off though or you will be, and you will throw up," he said, pulling an empty bottle out of Sam's grasp and plopping it on the makeshift coffee table.

Sam let his head loll back on the couch.  "Ok," he said easily.  If Gabriel didn't want him to drink anymore, he wouldn't.  "You're really cute," he said, a very un-manly giggle coming out.

Dean had been surreptitiously making out with Cas on the other corner of the couch but he heard what Sam said, and he pulled away with a laugh.  "Ok, I think drunky needs to go to bed before he says something he regrets," he said, standing and grabbing Sam's arm, pulling him to his unstable feet.  

"But…" Sam started to protest, but he trailed off when he realized he didn't have an argument.  He let Dean lead him into Gabriel's bedroom, where he got caught in his overshirt as he tried to take it off.  "Dean!" he cried out, trapped in the confines of the blue plaid.  He heard his brother sigh and then the shirt was tugged off.

"Generally helps to unbutton these," he said, tossing it on the floor as Sam kicked his jeans off.

"Oh," Sam replied, sitting heavily on the edge of Gabriel's bed.  "Gabe's not cute, he's hot," he added, amending his earlier statement.

Dean gave him a lopsided smile.  "Ok, so when you drink you talk, good to know.  Go to sleep Sam, you can tell Gabriel how smitten you are in the morning," he said, pushing Sam down and covering him up with Gabriel's comforter.

XXX

"The kid's drunker than you thought," Dean said as he shut Gabriel's bedroom door behind him.  "He's probably already out for the count," he added as he reclaimed his seat next to Cas.

Gabriel stared at his closed bed room door.  "Somebody should stay with him, make sure he's not gonna throw up and choke to death on it or something," he said, chewing on his lip.

Dean gave him a knowing look.  "Y'know, you can tell him how you feel now."

Gabriel look startled.  "What are you talking about?" he asked, feigning  ignorance.

Cas sighed, sliding down the couch until his head was in Dean's lap.  "You love him."

"Of course I do, he's my best friend," Gabriel protested, trying to hold onto his lies.

"No," Cas said, waving his hand in the general direction of Gabriel's face.  "You love him.  You want to have his babies."

Dean raised his eyebrows at that one, looking down at Cas.  "You're drunker than I thought too," he mused before turning his attention to Gabriel, his fingers idly running through Cas's hair.  "Seriously, one of you is gonna have to make a move before we just get tired of watching and lock the two of you in a room."

Gabriel blinked.  "What?"

Dean rolled his eyes.  "Jesus Christ you're as bad as him.  You want to bone him, he wants to bone you, in the words of Cas, you want to have his babies and I'm sure he would gladly let you do that if it were physically possible.  Seriously, he's sixteen now, the age of consent in Kansas and as his big brother I give you my consent.  Now get in there," he said, pointing to Gabriel's bed room door, "and make sure he doesn't go all Jimi Hendrix on us."

Gabriel sat mutely for a moment before standing and taking a few steps towards his bedroom door in a daze.

"Hey," Dean said and he turned around.  "Don't mess with him tonight, ok?  You're one of my best friends but if you took advantage of my little brother right now I would have to kill you," he said, and Gabriel knew he was telling the truth.  "He's really drunk and I know that he totally wants you, but just… Not tonight, ok?"

"You know I wouldn't-"

"No, I know," Dean interrupted, holding his hand up to stop Gabriel's protests.  "But he's my little brother, so I had to say it."

Gabriel smiled slightly, and nodded, glancing down at his own little brother, fast asleep with his head cradled in Dean's lap.  He'd given Dean a similar 'hurt him and I'll kill you' speech when they'd begun dating, so he couldn't blame Dean for returning the favor.

"You guys can use the blanket on the back of the couch,"  he said before bidding Dean goodnight and going into his room.  It was dark but he'd learned the way over the past couple of months, and he knew from experience which side of the bed Sam would be on.  He could hear soft snores coming from the teen as he shucked his jeans off, crawling into bed in his t-shirt and boxers.

The addition of his weight shifted the mattress and Sam woke with a snort.  "Gabe?" he murmured, turning onto his side.

"Shh," Gabriel whispered.  "Go back to sleep kiddo."

"Mm, no," Sam murmured, moving closer.  Gabriel's eyes had adjusted and he saw Sam's face moving towards his in the darkness, and he quickly put his hands on Sam's shoulders, stopping him.  That seemed to sober Sam a little bit, and he pulled away hastily.  "Oh man, Gabe, I-I didn't mean-"

"Shh," Gabriel whispered again.  "Calm down.  I want to kiss you Sam, so bad, but I don't want our first kiss to be something you probably won't even remember.  And if you weren't drunk you wouldn't want that either."

Sam did settle down at his words.  "You're right," he mumbled, moving his body close to Gabriel's.  He mumbled more, pushing his nose into the crook of Gabriel's neck, whatever he was saying ending with "Kiss me in the morning."

Gabriel grinned, wrapping his arms around Sam.  "Yeah, I'll kiss you in the morning."